If you have been an avid user of Blackberry mobile phones, then this one you might say is just one of the substandard handsets. Since the company has been known mainly as a communications device for executives and people with a need to be linked most of the time, this one might just bring you a sudden disappointment. Many commentaries regarding its focus on multimedia features eventually affected its image to its detriment, because it appeared much like a toy to satisfy the group of consumers who would want to have plaything.

At first glance

Looking at it you’d realize that it’s a whole lot slimmer compared to the usual Blackberry handsets and has managed to conform to the typically appearance of a cell phone. Though its size has been compared to a first generation Ipod nano only a bit larger, has a glossy design with a weight more or less 3 ounces and an impressive first rate feel.

Fundamentally, RIM resolved to finally reducing its number of keys by an estimate of 50 percent just to be able to have a new aura. Compared to the older version of 8700 series which has one key per alphabet, but with Pearl, the keys now have two alphabets. In fact the target of improving wholly its design has been reached by adding a pearl-like trackball combined to its keyboard. The trackball serves as a navigation device which is further highlighted by a bright LED found right behind it, the LED made it appear to be translucent like a pearl that matches its sophisticated look.

Now the inside

Dramatically it is quite different than the previous Blackberry handsets. Its features include SMS and MMS support, a camera with 1.3 megapixel, audio and video playback, a Bluetooth connectivity that ca be linked to wireless headsets and integration to RIM’s map service, a 64mb expandable flash memory. It is a quad-band GSM phone with GPRS and EDGE that has a pusm email and standard internet mail protocols especially enhanced by means of using the BlackBerry Internet services. It also has instant messaging support for AOL, MSN, ICQ and Yahoo! Clients.

The pearl’s color screen and clean user interface has 65k color and 240×260 pixel display. It promises a 15-day standby battery time and a 3.5-hour talk time.

What has to be enhanced

Though it has a camera, the 1.3 megapixel camera of it is quite inappropriate nowadays because it won’t be able to deliver any good shots worthy to be printed. Its high resolution isn’t up to date because the first versions have the same image quality, which is popularized over a decade ago. It isn’t definitely for a digital snapshot camera, but may be enough only for MMS-messages.

Despite the high memory of it, the actual size that could be used is only 19MB, meaning you can only store a rough estimate of 250 pictures taken with its camera therefore limiting the usage of video and audio media. Lastly most of the simple tasks are made complex such as the changing of a ring tone which takes 7 clicks to change.